Published: Thursday, January 13, 2011 at 10:00 a.m.

Last Modified: Thursday, January 13, 2011 at 10:42 a.m.

THIBODAUX — The weather was cold outside and so was the first-half shooting from the Nicholls State women's basketball team during Wednesday's Southland Conference game against Northwestern State in Stopher Gym.

The Colonels shot 34.4 percent from the field in the first half, and Northwestern State made 51.5 percent of its shots in the opening half, which helped the Demons take a 14-point lead at halftime.

Nicholls' shooting warmed up in the second half, using a late-rally to tie the game at 67 with 2:03 left.

But the comeback fell short as Northwestern State used rebounding and second chance opportunities in the final seconds to escape Stopher Gym with a 70-67 victory over Nicholls.

The Colonels (5-10, 0-2 in SLC) remained winless in conference play with the loss, but Nicholls coach DoBee Plaisance said she was pleased with how they rallied back in the second half. After trailing 44-30 at halftime, Nicholls outscored Northwestern State, 37-26, in the second half to put itself in a position to win the game.

"That's a testament to the character of this team," Plaisance said. "We were down by 14 to a really good Northwestern team that was shooting lights out. Hats off to these kids. They battled back. We had our opportunities at the end."

Northwestern State (8-8, 2-0 in SLC) extended its advantage to 16 points (54-38) after a layup from Jessica McPhail with 13:12 left in the second half.

The Colonels fought their way back into the game from that point, using a 15-5 run to cut it to 59-52 with 9:05 left.

The Demons were held without a field goal for the next 9:16, which allowed Nicholls to go on a 13-6 run and tie the game at 65-65 on a 3-pointer from Sumar Leslie with 3:19 left.

Following two Northwestern State free throws, Nicholls used an offensive putback from Jasmine Hoskins to tie it at 67 with 2:02 remaining.

On its next possession, Northwestern State (16 second chance points) grabbed a series of offensive rebounds that led to the go-ahead lay-up from Jordan James with 47 seconds left.

After Nicholls' Alisha Allen picked up an offensive foul with 34 seconds left, Northwestern State's Brittany Houston made 1-of-2 free throws to extend the lead to 70-67 with 19 seconds remaining.

Nicholls had one more chance to tie the game, but Ricshanda Bickham's corner 3-point attempt hit the side of the backboard with 4 seconds left, and Northwestern's Ronikka Drake grabbed the rebound to run off the final seconds.

Northwestern State won the rebounding edge, 47-41, over the Colonels. Plaisance said the Demons' second chance opportunities and rebounding hurt the Colonels at the end.

"Those missed shots really were not the case," Plaisance said. "I'm putting more on the missed rebounds and being out of position, but those kids battled hard. We're just going to go back to the drawing board (today) and get ready for Sam Houston on Saturday."

Leslie, a former Vandebilt Catholic standout who led the Colonels with 18 points, said the Colonels wanted to step up their intensity after halftime, which they did by holding Northwestern State to 34 percent shooting from the field in the second half and scoring 23 points off the Demons' 19 turnovers.

"We started to realize that we really wanted it, but we have to play like that from the start of the game," Leslie said. "We can't just relax at the beginning and say we want it in the second half. We've got to keep up the intensity throughout the game."

Other leaders for the Colonels (12 turnovers, 37 percent shooting from the field, 21.2 percent from the free-throw line and 21 percent from the 3-point line in the game) were Bickham (16 points, seven rebounds) and Cassie Hearon (11 points, four steals).

James led the Demons (43.5 percent from the field for the game) with 24 points and nine rebounds, while McPhail added 21 points and Houston scored 14 points.

NORTHWESTERN STATE 73,

NICHOLLS STATE 64

At Natchitoches, Devon Baker and Shamir Davis scored 12 points each to lead five Northwestern State players in double figures in a 73-64 win over Nicholls State on Wednesday night, ending a five-game losing streak.

The Demons (9-8, 1-1 Southland Conference) led 60-56 with 2:08 left to play, but a 3 from Dominic Knight followed by a layup and two free throws from Davis gave Northwestern State a 67-57 lead with 1 minute to go.

<p>THIBODAUX — The weather was cold outside and so was the first-half shooting from the Nicholls State women's basketball team during Wednesday's Southland Conference game against Northwestern State in Stopher Gym.</p><p>The Colonels shot 34.4 percent from the field in the first half, and Northwestern State made 51.5 percent of its shots in the opening half, which helped the Demons take a 14-point lead at halftime.</p><p>Nicholls' shooting warmed up in the second half, using a late-rally to tie the game at 67 with 2:03 left.</p><p>But the comeback fell short as Northwestern State used rebounding and second chance opportunities in the final seconds to escape Stopher Gym with a 70-67 victory over Nicholls. </p><p>The Colonels (5-10, 0-2 in SLC) remained winless in conference play with the loss, but Nicholls coach DoBee Plaisance said she was pleased with how they rallied back in the second half. After trailing 44-30 at halftime, Nicholls outscored Northwestern State, 37-26, in the second half to put itself in a position to win the game. </p><p>"That's a testament to the character of this team," Plaisance said. "We were down by 14 to a really good Northwestern team that was shooting lights out. Hats off to these kids. They battled back. We had our opportunities at the end."</p><p>Northwestern State (8-8, 2-0 in SLC) extended its advantage to 16 points (54-38) after a layup from Jessica McPhail with 13:12 left in the second half.</p><p>The Colonels fought their way back into the game from that point, using a 15-5 run to cut it to 59-52 with 9:05 left.</p><p>The Demons were held without a field goal for the next 9:16, which allowed Nicholls to go on a 13-6 run and tie the game at 65-65 on a 3-pointer from Sumar Leslie with 3:19 left. </p><p>Following two Northwestern State free throws, Nicholls used an offensive putback from Jasmine Hoskins to tie it at 67 with 2:02 remaining. </p><p>On its next possession, Northwestern State (16 second chance points) grabbed a series of offensive rebounds that led to the go-ahead lay-up from Jordan James with 47 seconds left.</p><p>After Nicholls' Alisha Allen picked up an offensive foul with 34 seconds left, Northwestern State's Brittany Houston made 1-of-2 free throws to extend the lead to 70-67 with 19 seconds remaining. </p><p>Nicholls had one more chance to tie the game, but Ricshanda Bickham's corner 3-point attempt hit the side of the backboard with 4 seconds left, and Northwestern's Ronikka Drake grabbed the rebound to run off the final seconds.</p><p>Northwestern State won the rebounding edge, 47-41, over the Colonels. Plaisance said the Demons' second chance opportunities and rebounding hurt the Colonels at the end. </p><p>"Those missed shots really were not the case," Plaisance said. "I'm putting more on the missed rebounds and being out of position, but those kids battled hard. We're just going to go back to the drawing board (today) and get ready for Sam Houston on Saturday."</p><p>Leslie, a former Vandebilt Catholic standout who led the Colonels with 18 points, said the Colonels wanted to step up their intensity after halftime, which they did by holding Northwestern State to 34 percent shooting from the field in the second half and scoring 23 points off the Demons' 19 turnovers. </p><p>"We started to realize that we really wanted it, but we have to play like that from the start of the game," Leslie said. "We can't just relax at the beginning and say we want it in the second half. We've got to keep up the intensity throughout the game."</p><p>Other leaders for the Colonels (12 turnovers, 37 percent shooting from the field, 21.2 percent from the free-throw line and 21 percent from the 3-point line in the game) were Bickham (16 points, seven rebounds) and Cassie Hearon (11 points, four steals). </p><p>James led the Demons (43.5 percent from the field for the game) with 24 points and nine rebounds, while McPhail added 21 points and Houston scored 14 points.</p><p>NORTHWESTERN STATE 73,</p><p>NICHOLLS STATE 64</p><p>At Natchitoches, Devon Baker and Shamir Davis scored 12 points each to lead five Northwestern State players in double figures in a 73-64 win over Nicholls State on Wednesday night, ending a five-game losing streak. </p><p>The Demons (9-8, 1-1 Southland Conference) led 60-56 with 2:08 left to play, but a 3 from Dominic Knight followed by a layup and two free throws from Davis gave Northwestern State a 67-57 lead with 1 minute to go. </p><p>Louis Ellis added 11 points for the Demons. Will Pratt and Knight added 10 points apiece. </p><p>The Colonels (7-6, 1-1) were led by Anatoly Bose, who scored 27 points on 8-of-20 shooting from the field, including five 3-pointers. Fred Hunter added 11 points for the Colonels.</p><p>Both teams shot 10 of 18 from the floor (55.6 percent) in the opening half, but Northwestern State entered halftime with a 35-28 lead. </p><p>The Demons led by as many as 13, 56-43, after a 3-pointer from Ellis with 8:15 remaining.</p>